You’d think having a garden smack dab in the middle of town would have very few large garden pests. Our community garden adjacent to Electric City Conservatory is fenced to keep errant hooligans out of the beds. We don’t have to worry about deer, but we have a smaller guest who is making himself quite at home. We have resident bunny rabbits.

I saw one hiding in the beans a couple of weeks ago, and sent the boys after him as a little aversive condition program. He’s obviously back because when I was watering a friends plot the other day, I noticed her lettuce and other greens were significantly chewed upon. This was more than grasshoppers.

How to Keep Rabbits Out of Vegetables

Rabbits are tough because they’re so darn cute. It’s not too hard to resort to draconian measures when it comes to potato bugs or tomato hornworms, but those fluffy bunnies with their big dark eyes melt your heart. That is, until they do serious damage to your garden.

I know most people wont like it, but the best way to keep rabbits out of your vegetables is through physical barriers. If there is a high population in your area it’s practically impossible to trap all of them, and keeping up with repellents is challenging. And with a situation like ours where there are many individuals sharing one big gardening space its tough to have everyone stay up with refreshing the repellent for every plot.

Build a Rabbit Fence

Thankfully, a rabbit fence isnt as much of a construction effort as one for deer. Rabbits typically won’t hop or climb over a fence, so it doesnt have to be terribly high; two-feet tall is generally sufficient, which is nice because most people (even someone like me with short legs) can step over it. However, they will take advantage of any gaps at the bottom so the best course of action is to bury it a few inches to make sure they cant wiggle a nose underneath it.

Chicken wire is absolutely fine to use.

Use Floating Row Covers

The next most effective option is to cover crops with floating row covers. At some level its an out of sight, out of mind concept, but as long as its securely fastened it provides some protection. The drawback is its not perfect; if the rabbit wants what you have underneath badly enough he will find a way to reach it.

Homemade Rabbit Repellent

Repellents work to a certain degree. Garlic is probably the best ingredient to use since its offensive to their sensitive noses and seems to send them on their way fairly consistently. You can blitz it in the food processor with a couple of cups of water or better yet, vinegar, which is another rabbit deterrent. Add cayenne for added measure. Soak cotton balls or pieces of cloth with the mix and set it around the garden. Youll have to refresh it every two weeks and after a rain or heavy overhead watering.

You can also sprinkle blood meal  around the garden since rabbits are on the lower end of the food chain and are intimidated by the smell. You can also place a few drops of fox or coyote urine (yes, you can actually purchase this stuff) and put them around their favorite crops. Rabbits wont want to be there if they think theres a chance they could be on the menu.

A couple of ideas that Ive heard from people, but havent actually tried, are using bacon grease to surround vulnerable crops, as well as ferret droppings. I suppose if you have a ferret and are looking for a place to put the poo, this would be an ideal outlet. On the other hand, if you have to go to your local pet store to request a to-go bag it might not be so handy.

Since were not going to build a rabbit-proof knee high fence at the Electric City gardens this year, I think our best bet is to let everyone know that we have a bunny issue, and let them take measures if they want to protect certain crops, if they choose. I have a feeling we are going to feed this rabbit a lot!